The Triforce of Essence
by Master Nenva
Summary: After the events in Ocarina of Time, Link comes across a new land. There he finds new villains, new friends, a new hero, and a new piece of the triforce. With two pieces of the triforce combined, will they be able to work as a team to defeat Lord Xelious?
1. Chapter 1

Link swayed in the saddle as Epona walked forward. His eyes drooped with exhaustion, and he was hungry, thirsty, and sore. He had run out of food two days ago. He had used up the last of his water that morning.

"Don't worry girl. I'm sure Navi is around here somewhere," Link murmured as he patted Epona's neck encouragingly. She glanced back at her master with concern. Link hadn't been acting well for the last few hours. He hadn't seemed entirely himself since they had set out on this quest a few weeks ago after Zelda had returned him to his proper age. Now that Link was ten once again and no longer on a quest to save Hyrule, he had decided to find his faithful companion Navi.

Their quest had taken them deep into the Lost Woods, where Link suspected that Navi had gone. Before that they had gone to the young Deku Tree, and before that they had gone to all of the Fairy Fountains. Nowhere had they seen any trace of the small fairy.

"Can't be much farther now," Link slurred. Epona neighed.

Link spotted a glimmer of light ahead, and he squinted his eyes. The light was too far to make out any details, so he wasn't sure if it was a figment of his imagination or not. Then he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey! Look!" came Navi's familiar tinkle.

There she is! Told you we'd . . . find . . ." Link mumbled before slumping forward in the saddle. Epona turned to look at her master, but he had lost consciousness. With a toss of her head, she picked up the pace and hurried forward.

When Link opened his eyes, it took them a moment to adjust to the bright sunlight. He had a sharp pain behind his eyes, and his mouth had a foul taste in it. He turned his head from side to side, trying to take in his surroundings.

He was lying under the shade of a palm tree on a small patch of grass. Several other palm trees were nearby, as well as a pond of clear water. Beyond the grass and palm trees stretched white sand and clear blue sky as far as the eye could see.

Link staggered to his feet and glanced around. Epona was grazing nearby, but otherwise the area appeared deserted. When she saw that link was awake, she tossed her head and neighed a greeting.

"Hey girl," Link said while slowly walking to her side. "Glad to see you're ok." Link heard a soft swish behind him, and spun around while reaching for his sword. To his dismay, it was gone. He was completely unarmed and facing a kid about his own age.

The kid had red hair and tan skin like a gerudo, as well as shocking blue eyes which were not customary for gerudo. He wore a violet tunic similar to Link's, as well as a purple cap. In his hand was a sword which was pointed directly at Link.

"Looking for something?" the kid asked.

"Who are you?" Link demanded.

"I'm the one asking the questions here. Your horse was much more cooperative than you," the kid commented.

"Her name is Epona," Link growled.

"You're lucky to have her. When I found you both, you were passed out from dehydration and nearly dead," the kid mentioned.

"I would thank you, but you're pointing a sword at me," Link said sarcastically.

"First you answer my questions. Then I lower the sword. What's your name, and where did you come from?"

"My name is Link. I'm the Hero of Time, and I'm from Hyrule," Link explained grudgingly.

"Hero of Time? Are you some sort of replacement? And I've never heard of Hyrule. Are you trying to rip off my look?" the kid demanded.

"What do you mean 'rip off your look'? This was my look first!" Link protested. The kid held up his left hand, displaying something that was glowing faintly. Link struggled to hide his shock. On the kid's hand was the triforce, only none of the three pieces were glowing. Instead, the upside down triangle in the center was the one that was lit up.

"Obviously you're some sort of hero wannabe. If you want to be the Hero of the Sand, be my guest. I have enough to deal with without the painful training and the high expectations. You can _have_ the stupid triforce of essence," the kid declared.

"Triforce of _essence_?" Link chocked out. The kid rolled his eyes.

"You've never heard of the triforce of essence? Finally I find the one interesting and maybe not entirely stupid person in all of Ordonia, and it happens to be on the day I'm scheduled to meet with the princess. And I'm already late. Well Link, it's been cool, but I should get going," the kid said while sheathing the sword and walking away. Link hurried after him.

"Hold it! You never told me your name!" he called.

"The name's Ravio. You might want to follow me if you don't want to end up scyther food," the kid responded.

"Hold up! Let me get Epona," Link said. Epona tossed her head as Link climbed into the saddle. He glanced at Ravio.

"How are you going to keep up?" Link asked. Ravio laughed.

"I'd like to see Epona keep up," Ravio said. Link couldn't see how Ravio could outpace Epona, but as soon as Ravio started running Link realized that Ravio hadn't been kidding. Ravio seemed to fly more than run, legs nothing more than a blur. Within moments he had traveled an extraordinary distance.

"Follow him!" Link commanded Epona. Epona broke into a gallop and raced after Ravio. They raced across miles of endless desert, keeping an impressive pace all the time. Finally, Link spotted something in the distance. It was a green smudge that was growing all the while. As Ravio and Link approached it, Link started to notice the details. It was a large green oasis surrounded by tall sandstone walls. Ravio and Link slowed as they neared the large wooden doors.

"What is this place?" Link asked in awe.

"Link, I present to you Takushi, capital city of Ordonia, and home of Princess Hylda. Come on, I'll give you the tour on the way to the castle," Ravio said with a smile.


	2. Chapter 2

Ordono watched her three older sisters who stood on a rocky ridge nearby. Her oldest sister, Nayru, was by far the most beautiful. She had long flowing silvery hair and icy blue eyes. Nayru was also the wisest sister, full of a knowledge which she loved to share with her fellow sisters. It was a painful knowledge, for Nayru loved to prove she was the wisest of them all.

At Nayru's side, Din folded her arms and huffed. Din was the second oldest. She had fiery red hair and flashing amber eyes, with a temper to match. She was the most powerful out of all four daughters. They all had powers like their mother, the goddess of time, but none had as much power as Din.

Ordono's final sister, Farore, was older than Ordono. Farore was almost as beautiful as Nayru, but in a more childish way. She had brown hair and vivid green eyes. Farore was braver than any of her sisters. She was always doing crazy things like experimenting with creating life.

Ordono herself wasn't among her sisters for a very good reason. She simply was not welcome. Ordono had black hair and tan skin from being in the material world longer than her sisters. She also had brown eyes. No characteristics distinguished her from her sisters aside from being normal.

"Why pointed ears?" Din finally asked in exasperation.

"Why do yours look like boulders?" Farore responded. The objects in question were three different species of life. Together the three sisters had created a world which they had dubbed Hyrule, since it was supposed to be a paradise. Din had created the land and the heat which warmed it. Nayru created the sky, water and the air; along with all the laws of order a world would need. Farore had created the plants and animals. All three of them had also built a race of intelligent beings. Din had created a race of rocky beings she called Gorons. Nayru created a race of fish-like beings she named Zoras. Farore formed a race which looked like Ordono and her three sisters, except they had pointed ears. Farore called them Hylians. Ordono had not been allowed to join in.

"You're giving them too much credit Farore, but whatever. We'll be right there to guide them. And when we aren't there, the Triforce will be," Nayru told them, effectively silencing the argument. This wasn't the first time that they had mentioned the Triforce. Ordono snuck away from the ridge. If her sisters could create intelligent life, she could as well. It wasn't her fault if her race came out better than theirs.

Link stayed astride Epona as they entered the area beyond the gate. Ravio remained on foot.

"I can't believe how fast you can run," Link commented. Ravio grinned.

"Horses are very expensive to raise and maintain around here. They eat and drink a lot, and water and food can be very scarce. The people have learned to travel quickly on foot. Besides, my special hero training requires me to be in top physical and mental condition," he explained. Link gazed around as they walked. The stone road was paved with more pale sandstone, and sandstone buildings stood on either side. Link realized that the buildings had been specially designed to release heat and circulate air. The buildings also sported small patches of grass, as well as the occasional stone well.

Walking around doing their business were strange inhabitants. There weren't many. In total, they only passed perhaps five people. There were two Gerudo women with their fiery red hair, dark skin, and yellow eyes. There was a Hylian man dressed in armor as well, who seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere. The final two beings were both strange. They were similar to Ravio, with their orange hair and pointed ears. The only differences were that they had lighter skin, yellow eyes, and they were girls. They both looked about Link's age.

"I've never seen people like those girls before," Link said as soon as they passed out of earshot.

"They're half Gerudo, half Hylian. Most of the people here are. Very few have pure Hylian blood. When Ordonia was created, at least half of the inhabitants were female Gerudo. As you know, only one Gerudo male is born about every hundred years," Ravio began to explain. Link knew that well. Ganondorf had been a Gerudo, and since he was the only male he was supposed to be their king. Link had no idea that Gerudo lived anywhere except Hyrule.

"Anyway, after a while the Gerudo women started to argue among themselves. Hylians were becoming more common, and were starting to take over the land. Most of the Gerudo left Ordonia. A few stayed behind. Out of the few who stayed behind, even fewer decided to marry Hylians. Of those who married Hylians, a few had kids. Now cross-race marriage is more tolerated, and half-race kids are more common. All of the kids that are half-race turn out to be girls because of the Gerudo tendency to have girls. I'm the first boy who was born to a Gerudo mother and Hylian father," Ravio finished. The two of them stepped into a large courtyard. There was a stone fountain in the center, and the edges were lined with more palm trees. A group of kids were hanging out next to the fountain. All five of them were boys, and all five of them were pure Hylian. Link noticed that they were all dressed nicely and carried swords. One of the boys spotted Ravio and Link.

"Hey, look over there! It's that Gerudo rat with the triforce of dirtiness!" the boy called. He had black hair and green eyes, as well as pointed ears and pale skin. The other boys laughed. Link glanced at Ravio.

"Just ignore them," Ravio said with a sigh. The boy continued to taunt them.

"Where's your mother, rat? Hasn't she left your father yet? Disowned her joke of a son?" the boy laughed. This earned a louder bout of laughter from the other kids. Ravio ignored them, continuing to lead Link across the courtyard and towards a different street.

"I bet your mother had to pay your father to marry him. Who would marry such an ugly Gerudo? Who would marry a Gerudo at all? They're all a filthy bunch of-" the boy continued, but he was cut short by Link as he dismounted Epona and drew his sword.

"Not as filthy as your mouth," Link growled. The boys looked at him in surprise, and then the lead boy laughed.

"You've got spirit. Why don't you ditch the filth and join us? We'll show you a good time," the boy promised.

"I don't think you would know a good time if it ran you through with a sword. Now, apologize to Ravio and his mother, or you will pay for what you've said," Link demanded. The boy laughed again.

"You want to duel? Sorry, I don't duel with dirt. It gets my sword filthy," the boy said.

"And I don't duel with whiny wimps who don't have any backbone. I guess we'll both have to make an exception," Link retaliated. A murderous look came over the boy's face.

"You want a duel greenie? I'll give you a duel," the boy growled while drawing his sword. Ravio grabbed Link's arm.

"Don't do this. That's Tolar. His dad is the captain of Princess Hylda's guard. Tolar is an amazing swordsman, and he doesn't fight fair," Ravio warned. Link smiled.

"I'll be fine. And if I don't teach him a lesson, no one will," he responded. Link walked forward as Tolar did the same. They halted when they were three feet apart. Tolar held his sword in both hands, while Link held his sword loosely in his left hand.

Shouting loudly, Tolar charged and swung the sword aggressively. Link parried the first two blows and stepped to the right to avoid the third. While Tolar was unbalanced, Link kicked him from behind and sent him sprawling in the dirt. He stepped back as he waited for Tolar to climb to his feet.

"Lucky shot," Tolar growled. He charged forward again, but Link leaned to the side and dodged around him. Within moments, Tolar was face first in the dirt again. Link waited calmly for Tolar to climb to his feet.

"You're going to pay for that one," Tolar said. He charged forward, swinging recklessly and powerfully. Link stepped aside to avoid some blows and used his sword to guide others safely away. Tolar was growing more and more reckless and violent as Link continued to evade the desperate blows. Suddenly Tolar lashed out with his foot, sweeping Link's feet out from under him. Link felt pain flare in his ankle, and Tolar grinned wildly while swinging the sword for an ending blow.

A sword blocked the deadly blow, and Ravio glared at Tolar.

"Murder is murder. I doubt your father would appreciate that on his precious record," Ravio said calmly. Tolar stepped back, and Ravio helped Link to his feet.

"Let's get going," Ravio said. Link nodded as Ravio helped him limp back to Epona. Since Link's ankle prevented him from climbing into the saddle, he leaned on Epona and Ravio instead. Together, the two continued to Princess Hylda's castle.


End file.
